2026-10-15 · The Rivyva team · seven minute read
Backups you've never restored aren't backups yet
Most hosting and database providers say they back up your data. Very few small teams have ever tried restoring one. A backup only matters on the day you need it, and that is the worst day to find out it is missing a table or takes a long time to restore.
A restore drill is a short rehearsal. You restore a recent backup into a throwaway database, check that it looks right, and write down two numbers: how old the newest backup is, and how long the restore took. People call these the recovery point and the recovery time. You do not need the jargon to write the numbers down.
Find the backups your host already keeps, or schedule a dump yourself. Restore into a temporary database, never your live one. Check that the tables are present, the row counts look sensible, and the app can start against the copy.
Write the two numbers down and repeat on a monthly cadence. Use placeholders such as 'the restore took ___ minutes' until you have measured your own.
On a paid rescue, the restore drill records those numbers and the readiness letter mentions them. The drill runs on a throwaway copy that is deleted afterwards.
Source: https://supabase.com/docs/guides/platform/backups